The hunt for an Aston Villa striker

So, I know you know this but the season starts soon and with players coming and going this week, I have a feeling it's going to be an important week for Tim Sherwood and Tom Fox.

And even though you could argue that the spine of the team from last season has gone or is going, things are actually looking okay. I say they are looking okay, but that's because my default position at the moment is optimistic.

And if you have to believe a percentage of the speculation in the papers, there are more players coming and it very much looks like it's a striker.

The striker hunt speculation special

The one that, for me anyway, offers the greatest potential is Charlie Austin. He's 26 years old and has consistently scored, even in the Premier League last season. And when playing for Poole he actually scored 48 goals in 42 games (if what I've just read on Wikipedia is true).

I don't know why (I'll use this later too), but he just looks like the finished article. He knows where the goal is and it feels like he was getting started last season whereas many players that get in the Premier League have a good first season, but you sort of know that's it.

I think I'd like to see Austin in a Villa shirt because I think he's got more to come. But that's just me.

As for an easy rumour, there is also talk of Emmanuel Adebayor and well, there is always going to be talk around Adebayor and Sherwood because of those few games at Spurs together.

The thing with Adebayor is he reminds me of Balotelli and when the people at the club that are involved in the making the decision (I think it's clear it's not just Sherwood), score the player in certain areas, I think he's going to score low in one or two areas that can't be developed or put right and I can't see it really happening.

But he does score goals and I've got a feeling that Sherwood can get a player that he really wants that nobody can veto and if that's the case, it could very well be Adebayor and it won't be so much as a job for an old mate, more of a hope that he does the same for him at Villa as he did at Spurs. It might very well work but it could also be a case of some blind optimism for the manager.

And the last striker we're linked with is former Coventry City player Callum Wilson, now at Bournemouth. And while he's still quite young and has scored goals, I just can't get my head around the headline in one paper, that he is to be purchased as a direct replacement for Benteke.

Don't get me wrong, you really don't know until they've had a chance but there is just something about Wilson that doesn't add up for me and with no Premier League experience, I can't see it happening (as a direct replacement for Benteke that is).

But he's going to get his chance one way or the other, so it's going to be fun to watch, but I don't think it will happen for us.

Could also be a surprise

But on that, there are probably more players coming and I think it completely plausible that we see another surprise player coming in, much like Gueye and Amavi and Benteke before them, if only because it looks like our scouting network is a little bit bigger than the Championship now.

But if Benteke is going this week and I think all things point to that, I do think we're going to see a new striker coming in quite soon. Season kicks off soon and the manager will want to get everyone together for as long as possible.